Here are the 10 most overcrowded peak train services for spring and autumn 2016

I mainly cover transport and infrastructure, along with workplace diversity. You can email me on Rebecca.smith@cityam.com with stories and commentary.

Eight of the top 10 overcrowded stations were in the capital (Source: Getty)

Rebecca Smith

The Department for Transport (DfT) has released new statistics revealing the most overcrowded train services in England and Wales last year.

Eight of the top 10 overcrowded services in both spring and autumn last year arrived or departed London stations. The DfT said with the exceptions of Birmingham and Liverpool, rail demand has grown at all the major cities assessed.

For the most overcrowded services in spring, five of them were Southern rail, while two of the autumn list were Southern rail services too. Six of the other most crowded services were Thameslink or Great Northern, while TransPennine Express had four trains in the two top 10s.

The 10 most overcrowded peak train services in the UK's major cities - spring 2016

The 10 most overcrowded peak train services in the UK's major cities - autumn 2016

Rank

City

Critical load point

Time at critical load point

Train operating firm

Service

1.

London

London Bridge

08:20

Southern

07:16 East Grinstead to London Bridge

2.

London

London King's Cross

09:02

Great Northern

07:55 Cambridge to London Kings Cross

3.

London

West Hampstead

17:56

Thameslink

17:08 Sutton to St Albans City

4.

London

London Blackfriars

08:17

Thameslink

06:57 Brighton to Bedford

5.

Manchester

Manchester Oxford Road

16:19

TransPennine Express

16:00 Manchester Airport to Edinburgh

6.

London

London Bridge

08:24

Southern

07:27 Reigate to London Bridge

7.

London

London Paddington

17:18

Great Western Railway

17:18 London Paddington to Oxford

8.

Manchester

Manchester Oxford Road

08:22

TransPennine Express

04:22 Glasgow Central to Manchester Airport

9.

London

London Blackfriars

17:40

Thameslink

16:26 Bedford to Brighton

10.

London

London Euston

18:13

London Midland

18:13 London Euston to Birmingham New St

Blackfriars had the highest crowding level of all central London stations, while Fenchurch Street had a higher percentage of standing passengers. Almost 150,000 people were standing at trains' busiest points on arrival into central London in the three-hour morning peak.

For spring last year, the top 10 were between 58 per cent and 126 per cent over their passenger capacity, while for autumn, the top 10 were between 77 per cent and 113 per cent over their passenger capacity.

The DfT said all franchises it lets require the train operator to address crowding. "Operators must plan their timetables to ensure, as far as possible, that crowding is not unduly concentrated on any particular route or service," it said.

David Leam, infrastructure director at business group, London First, said:

There is simply not enough room on our railways for the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on a train for their daily commute.

Next month’s engineering works at Waterloo will provide a short term fix but it risks being only a sticking plaster.

The government must plan for the long term and deliver on projects like Crossrail 2, otherwise we face further delays, station closures and, for commuters lucky enough to get onto a train, they’ll be crammed in like sardines.